Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Sharing the idea behind exhibiting at JTB India’s upcoming virtual MICE show slated to be held on April 28, Saket Dhandhania, Director (Alliances), DreamSetGo, says, “Year 2020 was a difficult year for all of us. MICE Engage 2021 is offering us all the opportunities to demonstrate our capabilities and efforts in reviving the travel business. We have had a long-standing relationship with JTB India and through this event we are looking at networking with key corporates, decision-makers and also building on some of our existing business relationships.”

Union Minister of Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri has hailed the ‘Corona Warriors’ of the civil aviation sector saying that “They have been diligently performing their duties despite great personal risks to ensure that we can continue to reach out to our people in their hour of need.” He called the civil aviation essential staff members ‘relentless and undaunted’.

Speaking on day one of WTTC’s Global Ssummit in Cancun, Gloria Guevara, CEO & President of WTTC, said, “The global recovery of the travel and tourism sector has begun. We are leading by example demonstrating how to execute a successful hybrid event with over 600 CEOs of the private sector attending and adhering to all health and safety protocols in place.”

Amid hospitals across the country scrambling for medical oxygen due to rising number of Covid-19 cases, an Air India flight brought 318 Philips oxygen concentrators from New York JFK Airport to New Delhi on Monday.  

AVIAREPS, the India representative for Budget Rent A Car, will conduct its first-ever presentation for the Indian travel trade on Tuesday, 27 April at 11 am IST. Khushbu Vora, its Account Manager, will highlight Budget’s offerings to the trade and stand a chance to win exciting prizes. To sign up, contact Jaspreet Kaur on 9650196532 or jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com.

Continuing with its efforts to find ways and means of enriching the members’ knowledge during these extremely challenging times, the Outbound Tour Operators of India (OTOAI) has recently collaborated with its recent associated member VisitPortugal,  to hold a series of webinars. The main purpose of these webinars is to enrich the knowledge of OTOAI members regarding Portugal as a tourism destination,  attracting visitors from all over the world (Europe’s Leading Destination 2020), to its seven and contrasting regions. Riaz Munshi, President, OTOAI said, “There are new and revised set of guidelines for people travelling to mainland Portugal, in transit or with connecting flights, regarding which we aim to appraise our members. These Webinars are just one of the many initiatives that we have been taking over the last few months to help OTOAI members sail through these exceptionally challenging times. The international travel scenario is changing very fast and we need to stay updated with the same to offer trustworthy and authentic information to our customers.” Claudia Matias, VisitPortugal Director in India said, “We are a country with such heritage, diversity,  inclusiveness, warm hospitality and mild weather. We rank top searched destination of “European Best Destinations” in 2021. It is not a surprise that celebrities such as Madonna, John Malkovich, Monica Bellucci or Scarlett Johansson decided to settle in our amazing country. These webinars are a continuation of our commitment and B2B strategy in India, after opening our office in New Delhi in 2020. We find it extremely relevant to train our business partners, helping them to sell the destination better. Besides this, we look forward to organising FAM trips to gain first-hand knowledge about our country, once tourism from …

As the world is struggling with a new wave and new mutations, the increased vaccination drive across the globe is offering the much-needed assurance and many countries have come out with statements welcoming guests who have received their complete vaccine dose. Maintaining the travel sentiment and in an endeavour to assure people that outbound travel from India will hopefully resume soon, RiazMunshi, President, OTOAI, was recently invited to be the Keynote Speaker at a Luxury B2B MICE Conference in Istanbul, Turkey organised by Team Travel Shop. The event took place from April 6 – 7, 2021. Expressing his thoughts on Indian traveller’s travel habits in the light of the pandemic, President OTOAI said, “Turkey is the perfect destination for all segments of Indian travellers, be it families, honeymooners, MICE groups or weddings. Turkey is also one of the first countries to launch the Safe Tourism Certification System, which is already a step in the right direction to build consumer confidence. Travellers will now be much more cognizant of their choice of destinations and will seek reassurance that they will be safe while in a particular country or location. Positioning the destination as one that promises travel safety upfront puts Turkey in a good position to attract more travellers. I am sure that together, we will make India the number one source market for Turkey.” Emphasising how the entire world is travelling in the same boat and must collectively work towards turning this into an opportunity, Munshi said, “I believe that the travel industry is at a point of disruption and the future will be different from what we had imagined, but it will surely be a bright one. For all …

Sharing a key development for the virtual show slated to be held on April 28, Anil Srinivasan, Executive Director at JTB India, says, “We are very excited to have Dubai Expo as our Platinum Partner for the event, which will give us a big boost in terms of the value we will bring to the buyers. We have confirmed 30 exciting exhibitors.”

The Tourism Office of Spain – Mumbai will conduct its next webinar ‘I Travel Because Its My Turn’ for the travel trade today at 3pm IST. This interactive session will be conducted by representatives from the AVE Cities Network and will also include a product update by BLS International. Participants stand a chance to win Amazon vouchers on attending all the webinars. To register, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

In view of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, West Bengal Tourism has issued Tourism Industry Operation Guidelines. It has also formed a special C19 Tourism Taskforce under the Chairmanship of Principal Secretary, Nandini Chakravorty along with a five-member team from the tourism department and the tourism industry.